The present invention relates to devices for adaptive fast-charging of mobile devices.
Modern electronic appliances are becoming ubiquitous for personal as well as business use. It cannot be overstated that with the evolution of such devices, mobility has emerged as a key driver in feature enhancement for technological innovation. While the rapid advancement of low power-consumption processors and flash-memory devices have enabled such mobility to reach new levels of real-world productivity, further development is significantly hampered by the rather slow progress made in battery technology. The proliferation of smart phones, tablets, laptops, ultrabooks, and the like (acquiring smaller and smaller form factors) has made this issue even more abundantly apparent as consumers are eager to have longer and longer device usage times between recharge cycles, without adding heft to the weight and footprint of such devices.
The demands of such applications vary widely, for example, in voltage or power level, but all are preferably served by lightweight, power-storage devices which can rapidly and consistently provide high energy density over long time spans, and can be quickly recharged to operational energy levels. To meet the growing demand in portable electronic device, energy storage devices with high specific energy, high power density, long cycle life, low cost, and a high margin of safety must be employed.
Currently, the dominant energy storage device remains the battery, particularly the lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion batteries power nearly every portable electronic device, as well as almost every electric car. Batteries store energy electrochemically, in which chemical reactions release electrical carriers that can be extracted into an electrical circuit.
The charge and discharge processes in batteries are slow, and can degrade the chemical compounds inside the battery over time. A key bottleneck in achieving enhanced performance is the limited fast-charging ability of any standard battery. Rapid charging causes accelerated degradation of the battery constituents, as well as a potential fire hazard due to a localized, over-potential build-up and increased heat generation.
Nearly all electronic mobile devices include power connector that receives and provide charging energy. Such electrical connectors are typically configured as female receptacle connectors, and are adapted to be engaged with a male plug connector, such as a USB plug. The plug connector may be at the end of a cable, and plug into an electronic device, thereby forming one or more conductive paths for providing charging energy. Generally, all existing types of connectors only support relatively-low charging current. Today, mobile devices are typically charged via the USB connection, which can supply up to 5 A.
It would be desirable to have devices for adaptive fast-charging of mobile devices. Such devices would, inter alia, overcome the various limitations mentioned above.